FFX2 Godhead
by Faded Visage
Summary: Yuna, now 22 years old, has risen to power over Spira, backed by many strong supporters. There are, however, Yevonite loyalists who are set on regaining their former power.
1. Chapter 1

The procession following the ex-Summoner, and now leader of all Spira, was long and vibrant. Courtiers, servants and bodyguards swarmed around the brunette girl who had accomplished the impossible so many months ago. Ex-Crusaders, now employed as Yuna's personal guard, pushed her admirers out of her path as she made her way. "Admirers" was an understatement; they were more like worshippers. It was almost as though the entire continent loved her.

Yuna, draped in long white robes and carrying her beloved staff, Nirvana, was hurried from the long walkway to the gates of Bevelle. Her tour of the rebuilt cities of Spira had ended and she was now ready to sit in her massive court, on her throne that was more like a giant armchair than a seat of power. Shy as she was, her advisors tended to make all the decisions in court, but she still held power. She had hundreds of fiercely loyal followers, and thousands of more Spirans who would rather follow her than allow any former maesters or anyone with connections to the old Yevon. Even the Al Bhed were public about their support—it was the only thing they were public about, as a matter of fact. It was widely believed that no one would dare attempt a coup to seize power. The Crusaders had never been more numerous nor more powerful since their great loss to Sin four years prior. In just a few short years, nomads from the mountains and the seas had settled into towns and become functioning members of the society. The ranks of the elite military force had swelled from that alone, and the remnants of the warrior monks had also been absorbed into the Crusaders.

The crowd lining the Highbridge was packed in tightly. They looked desperate to surge forward, past the Crusaders armed in full riot gear that were keeping them back. The available walking space was so narrow that Yuna could feel the wind from hands waving past her head. She picked up her skirts and rushed even more quickly toward the impenetrable gate to Bevelle. The cheering mob continued to shove forward against the Crusaders. One anonymous man attempted to jump over a heavily armed Crusader but he was caught midair in a hold spell, giving the soldier enough time to bludgeon the transgressor with his heavy shield. Yuna sighed a breath of relief, but felt a twinge of sympathy for that man, who would likely require medical attention—if not for the blow itself, then for being trampled by the people around him.

The Crusaders along the edges filed in behind the procession as the Yuna, her personal bodyguards, and her various aides progressed to the great gate to the capitol. The hordes of worshippers followed suit, forcing the soldiers protecting Yuna and her entourage into walking faster. Many of them seemed to be hoping to be able to reach out and touch the woman who was now seen as a savior among the majority, and a goddess to the members of a small cult that had recently sprung up.

The gate opened to allow entrance, which was accomplished quickly. Despite the seemingly infinite numbers of adorers and a near-equal number of guards, it was feared that an assassin could get through with a firearm or other projectile weapon. Magic was not feared, however, as Yuna's captain of the guard, Sadye Vuillemot, had contracted the nigh-impossible to find Al Bhed to install the latest, most powerful machine for dispelling all magic before its effects could set in. It was a wonder that Sadye had found the Al Bhed without help from Yuna, who always had a contact in the Al Bhed leader Cid and his somewhat estranged daughter Rikku. Sadye always seemed to have contacts that no one else knew about; no one was ever suspicious, however, since Yuna trusted Sadye with her life. If Yuna trusted her, no one else was in any position to doubt her.

With a resonating boom, the gate slammed closed and locked behind Yuna and her train, shutting out the Yuna devotees outside. Yuna shook her head as she imagined the Crusaders outside attempting to force the people to remain calm until she was ready to grant audience. They were often compelled to take violent, though non-lethal, action. She prayed for the best; the last thing she needed was for someone to die at the hands of her personal Crusader guard. Though, admittedly, she could have just changed the name of the military and installed a new field commander; everyone would forget about the fatality since the Crusaders would no longer exist.

Crusader was such an outdated term, anyway. They no longer had any for which to quest. Sin was gone and would never return; the Al Bhed were not enemies of the ruling party. The tradition was as significant as their place in Spiran culture had been, though. Crusaders had an established reputation for being the protectors of the people, and that's what the Summoner wanted them to continue being. The warrior monks were the oppressors while the Crusaders were the cloak protecting Spira from the elements.

The oldest of the Crusaders, the few who had survived the battle with Sin, were all members of Yuna's bodyguard. They had proven themselves trustworthy and would protect Yuna with their lives, sacrificing themselves if need be. The newest of the Crusaders were stationed as far from Yuna as possible, as was deemed by Sadye to be the best way to keep the Summoner safe from harm. The military academy in Bevelle had been established to bring solid organization to the training of future soldiers. It did not, however, have the means to weed out those who enlisted and received training so that they could get close to Yuna. It was impossible to tell if there was anyone out there with that plan in mind.

The strange thing about Sadye Vuillemot was that she had never been a Crusader, she had never even been a guardian, and she had never even met a warrior monk in her life. The first time she met Yuna was during one of the first blitzball games after the defeat of Sin and Yu Yevon. A suicide bomber had threatened Yuna's life, but before he could get the explosives to go off, Sadye had stolen the sidearm of a guard and dove at the bomber, squeezing the trigger as rapidly as possible. Though dead after the first shots, Sadye had tackled him and sent the man over the edge of the balcony. She had almost died, as well, but the agile woman had caught a hold on the ledge. It was lucky that a hovering platform meant for security was nearby, because the woman wasn't strong enough to pull herself up or to hold on for very long. It was also very fortunate that the bomb had gone off in the air and a nearby magic user in the audience had used his abilities with Demi to condense the explosion so that it was harmless.

Yes, it was through this that Sadye had become possibly the most powerful person in Spira next to the summoner herself. She had Yuna's ear. She frequently spoke for Yuna. The woman was even allowed to make real decisions without consulting Yuna or the other advisors. Yuna trusted her completely.

It was a long walk to the assembly hall in the palace capitol of Bevelle. The short, black haired Sadye was waiting for Yuna at the massive doors into the gigantic room. The doors themselves were a sight to see. Carved in the polished Macalania hardwood were images of the now-dead Aeons. Each one was intricately detailed and gold filled in the smallest of carved lines. The largest beast on the door was in the center and split in half as the door opened. It was a large icon of Bahamut with his regal wings outstretched, reaching to envelope the beautiful Shiva, the powerful Ifrit, the soaring Valefor, and the noble Yojimbo, amongst several others. Yuna stood before the doors as they opened fully, watching the dear beasts that had given themselves to protect her, and in a final gesture, sacrificed themselves for the good of all Spira.

She tried so desperately not to cry, but thin streams of tears began working their way down her cheeks. Sadye was immediately at Yuna's side, wiping the tears away. "These doors always seem to get to you, Lady Yuna. Are you sure you do not wish them moved elsewhere?"

Yuna shook her head meekly, "No, they must be remembered, most of all by myself. They were friends to me and I shouldn't forget that."

She also couldn't make the staff do the work to have the doors moved and replaced. It was not hard to imagine how much time and effort that would take. The bolts alone were bigger than a grown man's fist.

Sadye looked deeply into Yuna's eyes. The brunette savior of Spira had incredible eyes: one a rich, watery sapphire and the other a brilliant, lush emerald. The woman subtly bit her lip and backed away. She didn't want Yuna to become suspicious of any of her varied thoughts concerning the Summoner.

"Milady, I have received word from my Al Bhed contacts. They say they have not heard from Her Ladyship Rikku in quite some time. It troubles them. Of course, Cid has hardly given note to it."

"Is it just Rikku, Sadye?"

"No, Lady Summoner, Her Ladyship's patrol has been missing at sea for some time, as well. We believe she is with it, but that does not help matters much."

Sadye and Yuna walked briskly down the grand hall toward the plush throne where Yuna sat for assembly. The throne sat atop a platform raised above the main floor by exactly thirty-three steps. There was no significance to that number, as far as anyone was concerned, though some did wonder, every so often, exactly why it was raised thirty-three and not thirty or thirty-five. Sadye normally had nothing else to do than to take note of the small details around the palace. There were eleven columns in the main entry hall, four in each of the bedchamber suites… Sadye needed a hobby. Running Spira did not take as much time as one would think; she was good at delegating.

Yuna spoke after the brief silence, "Rikku's not a spoiled princess. I'm sure she's okay."

At the foot of the steps, Sadye stopped in her tracks and turned to Yuna. Her voice was unnaturally high when she tried to say the first word, but she cleared her cleared and spoke, "You do not have to take audience today, Milady. It has been a very long trip for you and I do not wish you to work yourself to illness."

Yuna straightened her back and tipped her nose upward at a slight angle, "I can do this, Sadye. Thank you for looking out for me. It would have been lonely without you since Kimahri left."

Sadye suddenly perked up, "Lady, have you received any news from Lord Kimahri since he left to rebuild the tribe? I fear I have no sources within the Ronso ranks."

Yuna shook her head, "I haven't." She sniffed and breathed in calmly, trying not to cry, "They haven't even been seen in the Gagazet area."

"I hope they have not disappeared permanently. They were a valuable part of Spira."

They both watched the man who was pushing a mop around the marble floor. He was moving lazily and had likely been mopping the same spot for quite some time. He didn't want to be there anymore but he had not been dismissed and had to keep working until he was let go. Sadye understood that; her family had had several servants.

"You are all dismissed," she called out to the various people who were preparing the room. They would all have to be back the moment the assembly was over to do what they did just before it started. Their jobs sounded so depressing.

As they left, Crusaders began filing into the chamber. They took their positions forming a semicircle around the bottom step of the chair platform. The people who had been selected to be granted audience could not wait much longer. Sadye placed her hand on Yuna's shoulder to tell her.

The former summoner nodded weakly. "Okay, I can do this. Let them come in. I'm ready."


	2. Chapter 2

Yuna closed her eyes and took slow, deep breaths in a futile attempt to retreat from the din of the crowd of city ambassadors, Guild leaders, and officials of various high-profile businesses filled the room. So many people were filing inside, but there was not a single Ronso or Guado amongst them. Both groups seemed to have disappeared—the only Guado remaining in Bevelle were the Glories, the blitzball team. The Ronso had disappeared entirely. The Al Bhed had drawn away from the public, as well, but they were still active. Everyone knew that the islands west of the mainland were Al Bhed territory. The tribal people mostly stayed away from the mainland. There were likely Al Bhed in the assembly, though; it was almost impossible to tell them apart from former-Yevonite Spirans—the eyes were less noticeable than one would think. It was also likely that many used lenses to hide their eyes, and some probably even changed their hair color. The Al Bhed probably had informants in every corner of Spira.

Sadye stood faithfully at Yuna's side, watching over the proceedings. She readied herself to speak on Yuna's behalf as she almost always did. Despite the fact that she could easily word decisions—or even completely make her own—in such a way that she would benefit, she loved Yuna far too much to risk not truly speaking for her. It would not do to be voted off the advisory council by the other top members of the cabinet. Yuna had sworn she would never overturn their votes; she was steadfast in honoring her promises.

Resting a hand on Yuna's shoulder, Sadye bit her bottom lip. For some reason, she was on edge every time she saw the man who was first on the list to speak. He was standing directly in front of her, just on the other side of the ring of Crusaders, between Rin—the successful owner of the Travel Agency chain of rest stops—and the former summoner Dona. She swore to Yuna and the security commander Nooj that she did not personally know the man, but she still did not like being near him. He made her extremely uncomfortable.

Yuna reached up and placed a hand on top of Sadye's. "I need to get this done soon, don't I?"

"Milady, do not trouble yourself with the less important matters. They will take my word as your own, so I can deal with most of it. I know how tired you must be. It was a long trip." Sadye moved a strand of her friend's long, brown hair back behind her ear.

"Thank you, Sadye," she said, moving her head away from Sadye's hand. It would not do to show too much affection in public. Thing could be assumed…incorrect things.

In the years since Yuna was given leadership of Spira to replace the ousted and humiliated Maesters, she had held dozens of mass audiences. They were so taxing on her but she felt the need to speak personally to the people—or as many of them as was rational. She was deathly afraid of becoming a near-unreachable ruler like the leaders of Yevon had been. The meetings would be held whether she felt physically and emotionally up to it or not; Sadye was more than able to answer concerns if she could not.

For once, Yuna cursed the magic-dampening machine Sadye had bought and had installed. She wished there was something she could do to refresh herself and white magic would have easily been a temporary cure for her fatigue. It was, of course, unhealthy to rely on magic; nothing revitalized the body and mind like a good, long sleep. The machine made her feel so isolated, as well. Magic was a part of her and she was separated from it whenever she was inside the capitol. And she had just begun getting used to not having the Fayth around….

The woman slowly rose to her feet to welcome the assembly. Sadye's immediate reaction was to help her up but she refrained from doing so. The last thing the people needed to see was their wondrous, youthful savior requiring help just to rise from a chair. Yuna calming steadied herself, managing to retain her noble stature all the while. The movements and words came to her automatically—she thanked people for bringing their concerns before her and assured them that they would all be addressed, and that her people would do all they could to make Spira even better.

The room grew silence, except for a few scattered whispers. Yuna sat and beckoned the first man forward. As he walked up to the bottom step, he bowed his head. Sadye's muscled tensed; she could not help but feel that he was up to no good.

The man spoke and Yuna could see his lips move. She could hear the words. For some reason, though, they made no sense in her ears. She stared at him, brow furrowed so it did not look as though she was not paying attention. Sadye was there at her side, leaning over and whispering into her ear a summary of what the man said.

"He is asking for more resources to continue research on the new airship discovered by Rikku's expedition in the northern sea last year. Apparently most of the inside has been spared from flooding and it is possible that they can raise it from the ocean floor and get it working again."

Yuna nodded. "I remember him…. He should be funded more; airships are incredible relics."

"Yes, but we cannot afford to simply throw gil around. Not if we do not directly benefit."

She thought over it for a moment before asking the inevitable question. "What do you think I should do?"

Sadye smiled, happy to be making yet another of Yuna's decisions. "We can give him what he wants, but he must take a Crusader detachment with him and when the ship is working, ownership will be turned over to us."

"I don't think he'd do it, then. Tell him that he must turn it over to us if we ever ask. That way there's still reason for him to the work himself."

Sadye nodded and turned to the man. Just as she started speaking, the room began to shake. An explosion ripped through the side wall of the chamber, booming as flaming debris and members of the assembly were hurled through the air. The thunderous racket nearly drowned out the screaming of those who were not killed instantly. Fire erupted from the site of the detonation and spread through the room, over the assembly like water from a tipped cup. Sadye seized Yuna roughly and pulled her to the floor behind the chair. She covered the ex-summoner's body with her own and tried to push Yuna to slide across the floor toward the small exit at the back of the platform. The noise of the roaring explosion had died down but it still rang in her ears just as loudly. In the seemingly infinite moment of the blast, fire had washed over most of the assembly hall, burning many of the crowd. From the size of it, Sadye expect most to be wounded, if not dead.

The dark-haired woman cough as the dust and smoke threatened to fill her lungs and suffocate her. She got up off of Yuna and hauled the women to her feet. She held her sleeve to her mouth and breathed in steadily; Yuna did the same, coughing only slightly. Sadye tried to peer through the thick smoke but she could hardly see anything. Suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed her wrist. A face appeared through the smoke—it was the Crusader guard captain. She grabbed Yuna's arm and pushed the two together. The captain understood and guided Yuna out the back exit.

As the ringing in her ears became less overwhelming, she could hear the screams and moaning of the wounded in the room. She accidentally took a deep breath and burst into fits of coughing. She followed Yuna out, desperate for fresh air.

It was not for another five minutes that an alarm went off.

-x-

Yuna was put onto a stretcher by a Crusader medic. They were still in the passageway behind the assembly hall—the corridor had become a triage area for those who had been closest to the chair platform. The medics, too, now cursed the magic-inhibiting machines Sadye had had installed. She had to give them permission to turn off the dampening network after seeing all the wounded in the hallway alone. She could only imagine the how many casualties were on the other end of the assembly chamber.

"We need to get you to your chambers as soon as possible, Lady Yuna. It's not safe here, especially with the network shut down." Commandant Nooj was in the corridor with a heavily armed squad of Crusader security. Every room in the capitol except for Yuna's suite had been left unprotected so that the medics could spread out the wounded and attend to them all.

Sadye shooed away a medic who was fussing over Yuna. Yuna had been declared perfectly fine but some of the white mages and surgeons were extremely overprotective of their beloved leader. Two members of the security force lifted up Yuna's stretcher and followed Nooj and Sadye down the maze of passages to Yuna's private rooms.

Nooj handed Sadye a sphere as they walked. He said, "I don't want you both in private just for her safety. That message sphere was delivered by official courier. We haven't tracked down the courier yet but I really don't think he had any idea what he was carrying."

"What are you talking about?"

"Wait just a moment. It'll make more sense once we get that playing."

By the time the group got into Yuna's chambers, Yuna tired of being carried. She stood up the moment they stopped and she sat on the room's sofa. Sadye placed the sphere on the player and stood back to watch the recording.

There was a masked figure, female, as the ample chest indicated. The mask was carved wood and had the symbol of Yevon painted on the forehead. The woman spoke with a distorted voice, "This is a warning to all those who oppose the true Almighty Yevon. The Heretic Summoner has betrayed all of Spira, attacking and killing our great ruler in his mortal form. Yevon shall return to Spira, however, and He will wreak swift, deadly vengeance upon all those who oppose Him."

The speaker was silent for a second as she stared directly into the recorder. Yuna could see a certain familiarity in her eyes. It was not the kind of familiarity which would suggest she knew the speaker—no, she recognized the look of those eyes. She could not pinpoint exactly why it was familiar, but she had seen it before. Sadye, however, knew exactly what it was. It was the same expression as the man who had attempted to assassinate Yuna at the blitzball game.

"What is about to occur is merely a sample of what we are capable of. You are not safe; you will never be safe. All true Spirans will heed the call of Yevon and rise up if the Summoner does not abdicate and return power to the hands of the Yevon elite. If you do not submit to our demands then you will die. No heathen will escape."

The recorded zoomed outward slowly and panned to the left. An increasingly large number of masked and heavily armed individuals filled the space. They cheered and yelled unintelligibly—obviously in support of the speaker. Then the recording stopped.

Sadye sat down heavily beside Yuna. No one spoke for a minute that seemed to last forever. The silence was finally broken by her.

"This cannot be more than an empty threat meant to follow up the bombing. No one would dare attack us."

Nooj bowed his head as one of the guard captains spoke up. "Your ladyships, if I may comment?"

"Hmm?" Yuna looked up at him.

"There were a lot of people in that recording and they were all armed. I don't think it was just a thread. They've already proved willing to kill indiscriminately."

Sadye's lip almost curled up into a snarl, but she controlled it. She didn't like it when others opposed her opinions. "We cannot make such an assumption," she said quickly.

"We can't just assume that were safe behind these walls."

Yuna stood, "I don't know how to handle this. This has not happened any time in our history. Not since the Great War, at least. Nooj, please take your captains and do whatever you can to protect us. Question people….whatever else you can think of. It's scary to think that a terror group has grown without us knowing about it. What if they have someone close to us?"

Sadye shook her head. "Impossible, I questioned and approved all advisors and aides myself."

"But the bomb…."

"Do you not trust me, milady? What have I done that you doubt me?"

Yuna took one of her friend's hands into her own. "Please, Sadye, don't. I trust you with all my heart. That's why I want you to stay here with me. I trust you, I swear."

The Crusaders in the room stood at attention, pretending to not notice any feeling of closeness between the two women. Though Yuna had no true feelings for Sadye, her behavior appeared quite contrary to that truth to a person who had not found that perfect friend—a kind of platonic soul mate. Yuna and Sadye were closer than most people, male or female, were and that was the only real explanation for it.

Sadye nodded and stepped back. She bowed, her black hair shifting forward and covering her face and shoulders. As she rose, she parted her hair and moved it back behind her ears. Nooj could not help but notice how incredibly appealing this woman was. She was a beauty in a uncommon way—far from perfect, so far, in fact, that her imperfections made her unique and just plain sexy. There was more than that, though. When he shifted from her unyielding, powerful grey eyes to Yuna's mismatched blue and swirled green, he could see strength and passion burning within her. It was no wonder this woman had been able to solidify Yuna's hold on Spira in such a way that no one publicly spoke out against her. The bombing and message sphere were the first real signs of unrest since Yuna had been given leadership of the people.

Nooj turned to Yuna and saluted. "I won't disappoint you. We'll track down whoever these people are and they'll get what they deserve."

He took Yuna's hand gently and pressed his lips to her middle knuckled. Stepping back, he spun on his heel to face the other Crusaders in the room. They moved apart to let him through and then followed him out. Sadye moved after them to shut the door.

Outside, the hallway was heavily patrolled and the magic-blocking machina whirred calmly. Inside, Yuna paced slowly across the front room. She was tired of ruling Spira; it was an incredible opportunity, leading her people through the beginning of the Great Calm, a Calm she herself produced after casting off the beliefs she had held so sacred in her heart.

Yuna sighed and looked up at Sadye. "I'm going to take a bath."

As she walked back to the bath, Sadye followed her. Yuna retried a long, thin metal rod and moved to the candles and incense placed around the large bath. With a quick movement of her fore- and middle fingers, the rod produced a small flame. She lit the candles slowly and moved to the brown sticks of fragrant incense. Bevelle was so much more civilized than the rest of the continent—only in the city could someone have the luxuries of private baths and incense. She lit a stick and watched the flame slowly die down to a red-orange flow. Grey smoke rose and swirled through the air and the woody aroma spread out through the room. Yuna breathed in the pleasing scent as Sadye started drawing out the bath.

As the warm, slightly steaming water splashed into the tub, Yuna began undressing. Sadye moved behind her and took the heavy robe from her. "I'll be just outside if you need me," she told Yuna, leaving the bathing room.

Standing in her purple top—which looked a lot like a giant handkerchief—and undergarments, she ran her hand through the water, testing its warmth. Finding it perfect, she left the water level to rise a few more inches. The woman untied the back of her top and let it fall to the black marble-like tile; she slipped from her underclothes, casting them aside, and waiting the for the basin to finish filling up.

The mirror on the wall on the other side of the bath reflected the image of her small, tight frame. She ran her hands over her naked hips and struck an odd, yet appealing pose. She was quite proud that, despite her constant fatigue, she was in good physical shape. Yuna was full aware that she was an attractive young woman, though she never actively thought about it. It was on rare occasions when she was left alone to calm herself that she noticed anything about herself. Gazing at her reflection, the pains and problems of the world, especially the recent occurrences, seemed to disappear. For once, she was able to admire her life. There was no media to hype her image, no yes-men to tell her she was right no matter what she said…. That's what she liked about Sadye: the dark haired woman was not afraid to speak her mind. She wasn't shy about her opinions like Yuna was. The young former-summoner found it refreshing.

The water stopped pouring out automatically in less than a minute. Yuna turned to see herself in profile, just to judge how well she had been keeping up. She then slid into the bath and breathed in deeply, relaxing her muscles. Closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the rim of the tub, she drifted off into her imagination.


End file.
